Sunday, September 09, 2012

The Murphy Pass and the Zen Gap

One could only imagine what might have happened at the Hartford
Courant’s editorial board offices if one of their investigative journalists had
discovered that former Governor John Rowland, now a radio talk show host, had failed
to pay his mortgage “several times,” having been sued by a bank anxious to
recover mortgage payments from a dead-beat politician.

Brains would have exploded.

But
the politician who had “several times” declined to pay his mortgage is U.S.
Representative Chris Murphy. And so, Mr. Murphy has received a gentle pat on
the wrist from Courant editorial writers; this following a number of probative
stories – though not “several” – written by Courant investigative reporter Jon
Lender outlining the senile memory lapses of the 39 year old 5th District
congressman.

Editorial writers at the Courant may recall an earlier
instance during which it had been asserted that then U.S. Senator Chris Dodd
had received favored treatment on loans he had received from Countrywide, a
politically well-connected financial operation whose CEO, Angelo Mozilo, had
been parceling out preferential loans to Beltway power players who might pass
laws affecting his business. Mr. Dodd was one among many shakers and movers in
Washington given friendly treatment under Mr. Mozilo’s “Friends of Angelo”
scheme.

“’As rates were coming down, we decided to do what millions of Americans did --
we refinanced our home,’ said Dodd, chairman of the powerful Senate banking
committee that watches over the mortgage industry. ‘As you shop around, you
negotiate,’ he said. "I never spoke to anyone but loan officers.’”

Dodd was asked whether he had received a special deal:

“’It wasn't a special deal,’ he said, pointing out that the
interest rates they secured were ‘well within the band of rates being offered across
the country.’”

In a Sunday story, then Courant reporter Mark Pazniokas noted that the usually garrulous Dodd answered questions
concerning his delay in releasing documents he said he would release four
months ago with “the inscrutability of a Zen philosopher.”

So then, when would Mr. Dodd release the documents requested by the
media?

"’I think it will become obvious at the time when it's the right time, and
I'll explain that at the time when I do so,’ Dodd said Friday after a speech in
Norwich.

“Confused? The senator refused to elaborate.

"’My answer is what it is, and in the right time, it will be there,’ Dodd
said.”

The Zen fog dissipated when – please note the date – the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa issued
a final report on July 2012, according to story in Politico.

The committee report concluded that “the efforts by
Countrywide and its former CEO, Angelo Mozilo, to woo political power brokers
played a critical part in blocking legislation that would have reformed the
mortgage industry, specifically the roles played by Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac in the U.S. housing bubble of the mid-2000s.”

Mr. Dodd is now safely tucked away in the soft and plushy bosom
of the Motion Picture Association of
America. Courant editorials – there were none on the House Oversight and
Government Reform Committeereport
– have in Dodd’s case lost their fangs. But note the Zen gap of “several”
years, the all-important time lapse between suspicion and resolution.

Mr. Murphy, according
to the only state-wide newspaper of record in Connecticut missed “several”
mortgage payments; and on the strength of a representation from Mr. Murphy’s
bank, Courant editorialists conclude “There is no evidencethat Mr. Murphy received preferential
treatment” from the bank that held his mortgage.

“Several” is a word used by reporters and others to indicate
that there is no precise number available for release to reporters. And when Courant
editorialists write “There is
no evidencethat Mr. Murphy received
preferential treatment…,” they mean roughly this:We have received a partial and incomplete
representation from Mr. Murphy’s bank that he has not received preferential treatment.
Stay tuned; the Zen fog may dissipate – or not – in “several” years.